


open the walls, play with your dolls (we'll be the perfect family)

by DeanGirl2Y5



Series: i am the mastermind (underline mastermind) [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: (it's just a thing in this okay?), (she's still in a relationship with Naegi but brainwashed to also be in a relationship with Junko), Alternate Universe - Different Mastermind (Dangan Ronpa), Arguing, Bisexual Female Character, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Cheating, Dangan Ronpa 3 Spoilers, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Despair, Despair Naegi Makoto, F/F, F/M, Forced bisexuality, Implied Femslash, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Bullying, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Cheating, It's Danganronpa After All, Murder, POV Original Female Character, Poisoning, Pre-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Stabbing, Tags Are Hard, junko is still the mastermind, slicing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-16 16:54:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12346752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeanGirl2Y5/pseuds/DeanGirl2Y5
Summary: Danganronpa Mastermind AU.“She choked back silent tears as he kissed a girl that wasn't her. A girl that was much prettier than her, who didn't bury herself in song lyrics and notes.”Or; Emi Sato's descent into despair.





	open the walls, play with your dolls (we'll be the perfect family)

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first attempt at a Danganronpa fic! And it's a mastermind au fic, too! It features my Danganronpa OC, the Ultimate Cover Singer Sato Emi (originally the Ultimate Gamer, but I changed my mind)! As mentioned in the tags, this can and will contain spoilers to Trigger Happy Havoc, Ultra Despair Girls, and Super Danganronpa 2.
> 
> There may even be references to The End of Hope's Peak Academy. Heck, this first part of the trilogy (I know, another trilogy, when I haven't even finished my first) is practically side: Despair. If you haven't played the games/watched someone play them/seen the anime, I _highly_ recommend you do so. The Let's Player I personally recommend is NicoB.
> 
> Also, as this game was originally in Japanese, the names are going to be written as last name first name. For example: _Naegi Makoto._
> 
> Part two is ready, but it's going up tomorrow. All I have left to finish for this trilogy is part three.
> 
>  **DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing besides the story, Sato Emi, and her backstory. Title comes from "Dollhouse" by Melanie Martinez. "I Want To Break Free" is owned by Queen.
> 
> Constructive criticism welcomed and appreciated!

It was no secret Sato Noriko loved to sing.

She sang in the car on her way to work, while she did the dishes and cleaned the house, and to her only daughter Emi.

However, the singing stopped and the yelling started when Emi turned five.

Singing became little Emi's escape, her distraction. Along with hanging out at her Uncle Takumi's (or, as she called him, “Unca Kumi”) bar. She'd sit at the counter and draw random pictures (while quietly singing under her breath) that Unca Kumi would hang up behind the bar. No one really bothered her...

...until Unca Kumi bought the karaoke machine two months after Emi's sixth birthday.

The only people that attempted to sing were drunks.

Then Emi decided to try. She'd finished what homework she had to do and, when no other drunk got up and Uncle Takumi wasn't looking, climbed up on stage. She picked a random song and started singing it, catching everyone's attention.

Suffice to say, Uncle Takumi was surprised when he realized it was his niece singing, and later, when he told her brother and sister-in-law about it, the two didn't believe him. Until they came the next time to pick her up.

And the yelling stopped, and Noriko began singing to Emi again, with the older woman encouraging her daughter to sing along.

**//**

In fourth grade, her music teacher (who was also the choir teacher) convinced her to join the choir and do some solos (and she did). Honestly, Emi wanted her classmates and upperclassmen to have the spotlight more, and she told them this.

However, this didn't convince them, and they believed that she just wanted the spotlight on her at all times. She was the last to be picked when they were playing a team sport in gym class, and the one that got saddled with her groaned even though she was a perfectly capable team player.

They called her “Princess Emi” behind her back, but she heard it.

Still, she tried to make friends, but they just made it a point to stay away from her. So, she hid behind her auburn hair and became the shy, quiet girl who barely spoke a word in class.

That didn't stop them from calling her Princess Emi.

However, she still did solos for choir occasionally, but she sang more at Uncle Takumi's bar. The patrons liked hearing her sing.

They didn't judge her or call her Princess Emi. To them, she was just Takumi's niece, and she liked that.

The bar became her escape from school.

Apparently, someone at the bar recorded her singing one night, and she became an overnight sensation, almost as popular as Maizono Sayaka and her band. That was when her parents began entering her into different talent competitions around the country. Mom and Aunt Mika picked out her outfits. Dad and Uncle Takumi picked out what songs she'd sing without any input from her. Mom became her manager.

The first few times, she complained about it. She wanted to pick _her own songs._ She wanted to pick _her own outfits._

 _We're doing this for your own good,_ they said.

That was when singing became an escape from life.

**//**

Getting accepted into the academy felt like a dream come true. Emi could finally make some friends and never again be called Princess Emi. That meant not singing at the bar as much, but she didn't care.

Then again, the only reason she got accepted to Hope's Peak was _because_ of her singing at the bar.

It didn't stop her from going out to the nearest store, buying permanent purple hair dye, and adding purple streaks to her hair.

Mom freaked out over it at first _(At least she didn't dye_ all _her hair,_ Aunt Mika reassured her. She'd thought about it, honestly), but Emi just wanted to mentally and physically reassure herself that this was a new start.

**//**

She ran into him on her first day at Hope's Peak. Thin with light brown hair with an ahoge and pale hazel eyes. He didn't look very remarkable, but there was something about him that caught her attention as he helped her pick up her fallen books. Something that made her think _beautiful._

The boy kept murmuring apologies to her, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Emi smiled at him. “It's alright. Naegi-kun, right?” she reassured.

Naegi nodded. “And you're Sato-san, the Ultimate Cover Singer.” His blush darkened.

She nodded this time. “So, Naegi-kun, I believe you owe me a walk to homeroom.”

Little did she realize it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

**//**

Their whole class had gone through their introductions, along with their talents.

Idol, swimmer, heir, wrestler, detective, fortune-teller, programmer. Fashion girl, baseball player, hall monitor, gang leader. Gambler, doujin author, literary girl, soldier, cover singer.

Naegi, however, didn't give his talent freely.

 _(“I'm Naegi Makoto._ Hajimemashite,” _he said with a grin before changing the subject.)_

It's only when everyone was talking that Emi decided to ask, “Hey, Naegi-kun, what's your talent?”

That was when he looked at her like he was turning the words over and over in his mind. He had a five-mile long stare that went nowhere, and, when he smiled faintly, it was something painful and self-aware.

It was a look she recognized because she saw it every single time her former classmates alienated her from different games and activities.

“Luck,” he said it like a curse, like an anathema stamped across his face, his own personal label created by the school. “I got here by pure, dumb luck.”

The words were a bitter pill on his tongue, and, just like that look, she understood that bitter pill.

(little did she realize Enoshima Junko was listening to their conversation intently, grinning as she tapped her red-lacqured nails on her chin in thought.)

**//**

It took Emi three months to realize her true feelings toward Naegi.

Three months then it hit her like a train.

It took two more months for their first kiss.

Right in the middle of the hallway, no less.

She didn't know who initiated it, and she didn't bother to care.

(there were bills passed to a smirking Celestia behind their backs. she wasn't called the Ultimate Gambler for nothing.)

**//**

Sometimes, she sang at upscale clubs that her new friend (and upperclassman) Mioda Ibuki introduced her to (Mioda-san plays the guitar while Emi sings). Mostly for money.

It was the cleanest break Emi could get from her last school, from being called Princess Emi. Unbeknownst to her, Mioda started acting distant and started pushing her away until she was back to singing at Uncle Takumi's bar.

**//**

Six months.

They were together for six months.

Emi had just come back from the finals of a talent competition that took place outside of the country (her parents had pulled her out of school, with permission from Headmaster Kirigiri), and she found something at a gift shop that made her think of him. She'd won, of course.

(he'd always cheered for her while watching her on TV.)

Emi rounded the corner, bags in hand, and that was when she saw them.

Naegi Makoto was kissing another girl, and he looked to be enjoying it. The girl had him shoved up against the wall, her fingers threading through his light brown locks. His hands, on the other hand, were gripping strawberry blond hair done up in twintails.

She choked back silent tears as he kissed a girl that wasn't her. A girl that was much prettier than her, who didn't bury herself in song lyrics and notes.

She never made a sound as she walked away from them, only running when they were out of sight...

...until someone knocks her out.

**//**

She's stopped singing and going to competitions. She's stopped being Sato Emi.

She's Emi-chan. Enoshima's and Naegi's Emi-chan.

The only songs she sings are the ones Enoshima-sama creates.

_Songs about despair._

And Enoshima-sama loves it, loves her.

**//**

Sunglasses on (don't wanna spoil the surprise just yet, Enoshima-sama would say).

Monokuma mask on the side of her head.

She has a job to do. Enoshima-sama wants her to prove just how much Emi-chan loves both her and Mako-kun.

Emi-chan picks up the knife. She's wearing a dark robe over her clothes to protect them from getting bloody. She only has less than a minute before the tied-up couple in front of her wakes up. She has a camera set up right in front of them (it was what Mako-kun wanted, ,and what Mako-kun wants, he gets. Same with Enoshima-sama because she _loves_ them).

They're stirring, and she moves to stand in the shadows. Kenta wakes up first, his dark brown eyes quickly looking around as he struggles to break free. Noriko wakes up second, also struggling, her emerald eyes wide as she panics.

Emi-chan walks out of the shadows, pulling off her sunglasses to reveal her now-red eyes (not quite the same as Enoshima-sama's, but the Fashionista _loves_ them just the same, a perfect match for her hair). The knife is behind her back, and she coats it with the poison that's covering her gloved hand (some kind of snake venom. Tsumiki had gotten it for her at Enoshima-sama's request). She can feel their relief and hope turn to shock and despair at the sight of her eyes.

“Hello, Mom, Dad. Miss me?” she inquires with a predatory grin before slicing Kenta's throat and stabbing Noriko in the chest, pink blood splattering her clothes, and, face, and shoes as her mother screams in pain.

And she doesn't care as she sings “I Want to Break Free” by Queen (Enoshima-sama's personal request).

“Love you,” Emi-chan lies before walking away, as Noriko coughs up blood.

**//**

At the end of the world, Emi-chan's helping Enoshima-sama and Mako-kun erase the past two years from their classmates' memories. Ikusaba is there as well, dressed up as her sister.

Of course, Mako-kun is going to participate, but he wants to join their classmates in their blissful ignorance.

Emi-chan, however, is ordered to leave the school and join Mioda and Saionji in their despair spreading. Enoshima-sama gives her a phone that only she can call whenever she wants. However, Emi-chan can't call her.

Enoshima-sama is the first to give her a kiss before she leaves, followed by Mako-kun before he climbs into the machine and Emi-chan leaves through the last open exit.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Translation(s):**  
>  Hajimemashite - Nice to meet you.
> 
>  **NOTE:** The reason why Ibuki grew distant with Emi was a combination of the murders of Kuzuryu Natsumi  & Satou (AKA Twilight Syndrome Murder Case) and Junko's involvement.
> 
>  **FUN FACT:** In the original draft of this, where Emi is the Ultimate Gamer, Ikusaba is killed during the Student Council Killing Game, and Emi is the one that gets her memory erased.


End file.
